Some of Couric’s tapings ran as long as two hours — twice the show’s running time — because the host wanted to keep going to get as much good content as possible, the story says.

The decision to go live for the show’s final six months on-air was made as a way to keep the program within budget, the story reports.

“A source close to the show insists Couric’s decision to run longer was made jointly with Rachel Miskowiec, who was brought in last May as executive producer for the show’s second season,” the article reports. “The result was that producers and editors often racked up overtime to cut the content to fit the one-hour format, triggering significant budget overruns. ‘Katie’ was already one of the more expensive daily talk shows ever produced, in part because it had more field producers and news staff than most."

A Disney/ABC rep said the show will be produced live on four out of five days, with the fifth day taped but expected to be limited to a one-hour allotment.

One Comment

I read this and get really pissed off.
This isn’t brain surgery, this is a strip, five days-a-week television show.
Anybody worth their salt would have told the host, no way…we’re an HOUR show that will be shot live on tape in an HOUR.
Rachel Miskowiec should have been told NO by Disney/ABC…but then in reality she should have said NO to Katie from the gitgo. If Miskowiec is still with the show, then I fault so-called execs at Disney/ABC for not showing her the door.
Peter Bright